Reshaping Rituals to Mark Our Passages Through Life

By SCOTT HELLER

Leaving the Lutheran church after 17 years as a minister was not
a decision that Donna L. Seamone took lightly. A letter of
resignation handled the official matter. But that bluntly worded
message couldn't capture the complex mix of emotions -- both anger
and relief -- that marked her departure.

Perhaps dressing up could.

Donning all of her religious vestments at once, six chasubles
and six stoles, Ms. Seamone cut a rather puffy figure among the
friends